Staying awake
The effects of stimulants

By Sally Tse
     Working from dusk till dawn, people in busy cities like Hong Kong find coffee, rich tea and chicken essence helpful to keep themselves alert.
     “The caffeine in coffee and rich tea acts as stimulant which activates our nervous system and gives a short-term awakening effect,” explained Dr. Chan Yam Seung, a clinical physician.
     Dr. Chan said the awakening effect is the strongest in those who rarely drink coffee, rich tea and chicken essence.
     “They might not fall asleep for the whole night after having one cup of these drinks before bedtime.”
     However, when they get used to such stimulants, they have to drink more to derive the same awakening effect.
     Sally Tse
    Candies advertised as stimulants, sold in cosmetics shops, are popular among teenage girls.
     Miss Holly Wong Ho Lam, 19, a student, has depended on coffee as a stimulant for 4 years.
     “Coffee is essential to me when I concentrate on my studies during examinations and morning lessons,” she said. “The unique smell of coffee really awakens me.”
     During the last 4 years, Miss Wong has increased her consumption of coffee significantly.
     “At the beginning one cup of coffee was very effective to make me awake. But during the Advanced Level Examination, I had a maximum of five cups a day.”
     Moreover, the coffee she makes today is double the concentration of the coffee she made 4 years ago.
     Though Miss Wong seems to be addicted to coffee, Dr. Yau Siu Hong, 48, explained that the word “addiction” is not applicable to beverages like coffee or tea, because regular drinkers will not suffer any physical damage if they stop.
     Said Dr. Yau: “It has to do with psychological dependence.”
     He said that some people drink a cup of decaffeinated coffee every morning and feel more concentrated on work or study.
     Theoretically the effect is not possible because there is no stimulating substance in decaffeinated coffee. Nothing but psychological factors can explain this phenomenon.
     Nevertheless, the physiological effects matter.
     “Prolonged consumption of caffeine accelerates the aging of blood vessels and increases the fragility of bones,” said Dr. Yau.
     “Pregnant women should avoid drinking coffee and tea, which affect the development of their babies.”
     According to Dr. Yau, another so-called awakening agent, chicken essence, does not cause any physical defects to people’s health.
     “It is an energy supplement containing proteins and nutrients which make us feel more energetic,” said Dr. Yau.
     But he said taking a nap or having a snack is an alternative way to get your energy back.
     Said he: “I would prefer a chicken leg to chicken essence to acquire the nutrients I need. Chicken essence is not really essential.”
     Recently, some candies imported from Japan have been advertised as constipation-relieving, stimulating, and even teeth-strengthening.
     These candies are sold mainly in cosmetic shops, and they are popular among teenage girls.
     According to Mr. Claudio Lai of Shan Shan Cosmetic House, the candies cause abnormalities in his digestive system.
     Said he: “Once I ate half a pack of the constipation-relieving candies, but it resulted in diarrhoea.”
     “I’ll never consume such a large amount again,” said he.
     On the other hand, Miss F. C. Lee, a student in the Public Administration and Management Department at City University, said the candies are nothing more than ordinary blackcurrant and mint candies.
     Because the ingredients of these candies are written in Japanese, most consumers know only what the shopkeepers tell them.
     A shopkeeper at Zoe Cosmetic House, Miss W. K. Leung, said people should not look upon these candies as though they were types of medicine.
     She said, “The dosage of these candies is not clearly specified.
     “It is no big deal to take in a lot of them at one time.”


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December 1997

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